Sharing Content Is A Great Way To Generate Ideas

It’s good to share content from other sources that provide value to your audience.

Just do not forget to examine that content for ways you can create a direct impact. Sometimes, sharing content is a great way to generate ideas of your own.

A college or university, for example, shares a career checklist for students that it finds on another site. One of the items on the checklist provides some thoughts on how students can make the most of LinkedIn. Currently, the school does not offer any direct programs around using LinkedIn. That’s a great moment for the person posting the story to ask how his school can help graduating students to make the most of LinkedIn.

For example, why not consider building a LinkedIn network that graduating students can tap into? The process could be simple. The school creates lists of graduates in different fields who are willing to be one of a graduating student’s first professional contacts on LinkedIn. Now, in addition to providing a checklist from an external source, the school can provide its own direct set of basic tips on using LinkedIn and effectively teach the students how to interact with fellow alums. This gives new students immediate connections and generates momentum while they build up their own professional network. Then the school can grow the list by keeping track of those people in each graduating class who join LinkedIn.

Who does this benefit? Everyone.

It is a tremendous help for the graduating students. Alumni who are well-established professionally get to mentor and ultimately grow their own networks. And lastly, but perhaps most significantly, the whole process reinforces the value of giving back and networking (connecting) among fellow graduates. This should help increase overall alumni activity, create more advocates for the school and improve the value of a student’s investment in higher education.